The use of various types of engine mounts is well-known for mounting engines to vehicle frames. These devices serve numerous purposes, including isolating frame movement and stresses from the engine, sound and vibration isolation, aligning the engine relative to the frame and drivetrain components, limiting movement of the engine relative to the frame, and so forth. Engine mounts are particularly important in larger, heavier work vehicles, such as tractors, farm vehicles, and so forth.
Examples of engine mounts for heavier work vehicles are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,561; U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,194; U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,100; U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,231; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,524.
Particularly with larger work vehicles, conventional engine mounts can be quite substantial in their respective size and dimensions. Corresponding space and attachment points must be provided on the engine and vehicle frames to accommodate these mounts, which may add to the overall cost and weight of the frame components. In addition, assembly of the mounts can be tedious and time consuming, particularly if the mounts are assembled and attached from above within the relatively tight confines of the engine compartment.
The present invention provides an engine mount that is particularly suited for large work vehicles and addresses at least certain disadvantages over conventional engine mount designs.